Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) has launched MusicLab, an international conference dedicated to the study of music scenes, culture and their relationship with the media. The event seeks to consolidate an academic network focused on music research, analysing everything from new artistic expressions to the social and economic challenges affecting the sector.
During the conference, held recently at the University's Getafe Campus, a wide range of topics were addressed, from the role of women in jazz to the effects of urban planning on the disappearance of concert halls. Contemporary phenomena such as the impact of streaming on Latin American music and the role of fandom in Eurovision were also explored, among many other topics.
This new academic forum not only provided a platform for sharing research, but also reaffirmed the role of music as a key social, political and cultural phenomenon for understanding our times. MusicLab also provided a space for experimentation with participatory projects, such as the creation of a collective archive of musical memories, and for the critical questioning of musical diversity in the European industry.
The conference was organised by the research group Audiovisual Diversity at UC3M, with the support of the university's Master's Degree in Music Industry and Sound Studies (MiMeS), and in collaboration with IASPM-Spain, an international academic association dedicated to the study of popular music.
UC3M papers
Among the dozens of research presentations that were given, the following are a sample of some of those contributed by UC3M. In "Ethnography of musical scenes: blues and jazz in Porto", presented by Josep Pedro, professor in the university’s Department of Communications and academic director of the conference, an analysis was carried out of how different genres shape active communities within a specific urban ecosystem through concert halls, festivals and associations.
Rebeca Muñoz García, from the Department of Social Sciences, presented "Women in the jazz scene: A question of love?", a critical reflection on how gender inequalities continue to shape access and longevity in contemporary jazz.
Vanessa Gevers, Master‘s Degree in Music Industry and Sound Studies, spoke about "The closure of concert halls in Madrid", analysing how the rise of speculative urban development has contributed to the progressive closure of iconic venues for live music, addressing the structural, economic and cultural consequences of this phenomenon.
Nerea Sánchez Soria, Master's Degree in Theory and Criticism of Culture, presented "Que vivan las voces viejas" (Long live the old voices), a paper that defended the aesthetics of the worn-out voice as an expressive heritage of singing.
Gemma Camáñez, from the Department of Communications, presented the project "Donantes de Memoria" (Donors of Memory), proposing a participatory action focused on music as a trigger for significant memories, contributing to a collective audiovisual archive that captured the emotional and memorial dimension of the musical experience.
Carolina Fernández-Castrillo, professor in the Department of Communications, and Natalia Álvarez-García, a student in the Double Degree in Journalism and Audiovisual Communication, presented "Eurovision in the (post)digital era: the power of fandom beyond the televised musical competition", a study revealing how fandom has transcended the television format, becoming an active agent in the production of transmedia narratives.
Ignacio Gallego, also from the Department of Communications, gave a presentation entitled "How streaming is reshaping Latin American music culture", in which he examined the case of Mexican corridos tumbados and how digital music consumption is shaping new dynamics of production, distribution and cultural appropriation in Latin America.
Iago Mejuto Buceta, from the Department of Humanities: History, Geography and Art, spoke on "Exclusivity and the public domain. Problems affecting the music industry: the case of folklore" and explained how exclusivity mechanisms can come into conflict with intangible cultural heritage.
Lola Duque, from the Department of Business Economics, gave a presentation entitled "How do Spanish users rate the services of streaming platforms?", which showed how Spotify has positioned itself as the leader thanks to its specialisation in music.
Rubén Coll and José Luis Espejo, from the Department of Communications, presented "Musical diversity or Eurocentric defence? The European experimental industry", where they questioned the Eurocentric defence of certain canons endorsed by festivals and cultural agents.
Other featured speakers
Among the many non-UC3M speakers at the conference, it is also worth mentioning Ana Belén Catalán, who presented "Analysis and strategies in niche markets for blues music in Spain", discussing audience motivations and the challenges facing the genre; Marta Mangado, who spoke about "The representation of visually impaired musicians in cinema"”, focusing on films such as Ray and Braille Music; Fernán del Val, who presented "Scenes as spaces for the consolidation of communities of meaning. The cases of Argentina and Spain," where he underlined how in Argentina rock managed to establish itself as a scene with its own ideology, unlike in Spain. Lastly, Elena Rosillo presented "The new Iberian hauntological scene: from Rodrigo Cuevas, Baiuca to Califato ¾", in which she addressed how these artists combine tradition and electronics to generate new forms of representation.
The conference also featured international researchers from Germany, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Argentina, Denmark, and the United States, as well as the participation of Periodistas Asociados de Música (Associated Music Journalists), a network that promotes criticism, analysis and dissemination in the field of music journalism.
The MusicLab event sought to create an interdisciplinary and plural space for critical reflection on music, opening new avenues of research and cultural innovation within the university environment.
Video: https://youtu.be/HxovqWP1y90